Venetian blind



Oct. 22, 1946. W L CHT. 2,409,821

VENETIAN BLIND Filed March 5, 1945 Aim/"megs PatentedOct. 22, 1946 UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIAN BLIND Max W. Albrecht, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 5, 1945, Serial No. 581,067

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and i p type of Venetian blind and more p t y to a Venetian blind which is normally closed.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved type of Venetian blind which normally assumes a closed position and may be readily adjusted to any predetermined open position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blind characterized by simplicity of structure and ease of operation.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blind in which the cord or other means for opening the blind does not have to be adjusted at intervals as is usually necessary with the ordinary type of Venetian blind.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved type of Venetian blind characterized by a new and improved structure for fastening the tapes at the top of the blind.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and improved Venetian blind so constructed that the principal working parts at the top of the blind are enclosed in a housing Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent by reference to the following description in view of the accompanying drawing,

in which,

Figure 1 represents an elevational View with Figure 5 is a top or plan view of the figure shown in Figure 1 with the dotted line or cover portion removed;

Figure 6 is an isometric view showing the manner in which the Venetian blind slats are locked in open position;

Figure '7 illustrates the cover portion of the blind shown with parts broken away in Figure 1;

Figure 8 illustrates a portion of the guide supporting elements for the cord as hereinafter de scribed.

The blind shown in Figure 1 comprises a top bar I provided near the lower side thereof on each lateral side with flanged or projecting portions 2 and 3 (see Figure 4) The flanged or projecting portions 2 and 3 are formed in any suitable manner, for example, if the bar is made of wood a recess or channel is cut on opposite sides of the bar at points 4 and 5. A cover 6 shown in full in Figure 7 and with parts broken away in Figure 1 is adapted to sit on the flanged portions 2 and 3 of the bar I in the manner shown in Figure and to enclose or house the, operating mechanism hereinafter described. j

The entire top portion of the blind, including the cover 6, is carried on opposite sides by wall brackets l and 8, which are fastened to the wall in any suitable manner, for instance, by means of screws, nails or the like. As will be understood the invention is not limited to the use of any particular type of wall bracket.

The principal parts of the operating mechanism comprises a shaft 9 supported adjacent its ends by suitable brackets l0 and l I, Which in turn are fastened to the top of bar I by means of screws l 2 and I3, or in any other suitable manner.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be observed that the bracket It! has the general shape illustrated and is provided with an opening 14 to permit the insertion of a bearing l5,'which is held. in place by a press fit and by means of the flanges I6 and Il (see Figure 1). The shaft 9 rotates freely in the bearing 15 and is surrounded by coil spring 18. One end 19 of the coil spring 18 is fastened in a hole 2!! in the shaft 9 and the other end 2| of the spring I8 is inserted in any one of the holes 22, 23, 24 or 25 in the bracket Ill. As will be understood, the tension of the spring l8 may be increased or decreased by moving the end 2| to a different hole.

The spring [8 functions to rotate the shaft 9 in a clockwise direction when viewed from the right side of Figure 1. The tension on the spring 18 may be decreased by removing the end 2| from the hole 22 and inserting it in any one of the holes 23, 24 or 25. The least amount of tension being exerted when the end 2! is inserted in the hole 25. It will be understood that some other type of mechanical means may be provided to perform the same function without departing from the invention. The provision of means for adjusting the tension on the spring 18 is desirable because the force required to automatically close the blind as hereinafter described may vary somewhat depending upon the size and shape of the blind and the weight of the slats.

The shaft 9 is mounted on the righthand side in a bearing 26 supported in the bracket II. The bearing 26 is similar to the bearing !!5 and is held in the bracket I l in a similar manner. The movement of the shaft 9 in a lateral direction is prevented on one side by the spring I8 pressing against the shoulder ll of the bearing l5 and on the other side by a collar 2!- held in place by a set screw 23 or other suitable means. The collar 2'! is disposed closely adjacent to the shoulder 29 of the bearing 26. The tapes 30 and 3! of the Venetian blind are mounted in a fixed position with respect to the shaft 9 by means of suitable fastening devices 32 and 33, which are of identical construction. As shown in Figure 21, the tape fastening device 32 comprises an upper plate-like member 34 and a lower plate-like member 35. A bolt or a pin 33 having one end threaded passes through the shaft 9 and suitable holes in the clamping plates 34 and 35 and is provided at the upper end with a wing nut 3t which, when screwed downwardly, presses against the top of the clamping element 33 and forces it in the direction of the clamping element 35. The end 38 of the tape 30 is inserted between the clamping elements 33 and 35 on one side and the end 39 of the tape 40 is inserted between the same clamping elements on the opposite side in the manner illustrated in Figure 2, and thus the tapes are held in a, clamped and fixed relationship with respect to the shaft 3.

Oneach side of the bolt 36 an opening ll is provided in the lower clamping plate 35 to permit the insertion of a novel type of supporting element 32 for the cord 43, which serves to raise and lower the Venetian blind. The supporting element 42 comprises a thin strip of metal 33 orother suitable sheet material, which is initially out in the general shape of an O, as illustrated in Figure 8, and provided with holes 45 and 46. The metal strip 44 is placed over the shaft 3 with the central opening 47 over the stud or bolt 36prior tothe assembly of the clamp 32 and the ends containing the holes 45 and 33 are bent downwardly and fastened together by a suitable means such as the stud it provided with head elements -43and 50. As shown in Figure 2, the stud-48 has mounted thereon a pulley l, which is free to move with the movement of the cord 43. The member 52 is similar in construction to the member 42 and in a similar manner serves to guide the cord 53. The cords 33 and 53 pass between transverse tapes 54, 55 and 55, 53 in a conventional manner. As shown in Figure 1, the pulley supporting members 42 and 52 are preferably offset slightly with respect to the studs '36 to permit the cords 43 and 53 to pass centrally between the transverse tapes 54, 55 and 55, 51. The Venetian blind may be raised and lowered by pulling on the double cord 53 which is a continuation of cords 43 and 53. Aconventional type locking member 59 is provided to hold the blind in a raised position.

On .thelefthand side of the shaft 9 a pulley 33 is provided to which is fastened in any suitable manner-one end'of a chain 3!. As shown in Figure 6; the chain 3! isadapted to be held in a fixed predetermined position by means of a locking plate: 62, which is fastened to the top of the bar I by screws 33 (see Figure l) or in any suitable manner. The locking plate 62 has a wedge-shaped opening 33 and is relatively thin so that it will pass between beads 35 of the chain in the manner shown in Figure 6. Thus, whenthe chain is pulled downwardly the'shaft 9 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction against the pressure of spring '58 and the slats 63 of the Venetian blind are opened to any predetermined position and can beheld in that position by looking the chain Si in the opening. 33 of the locking plate 32. When it is desired to close the'slats of the blind,the chain 3! is pulled outwardly to disengage it from the recess 64 of the locking plate 62, the shaft 9 is then rotated in a clockwise direction due to the action of the spring i3 and the slats of the blind are automatically closed.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular type of device shown for locking the slats of the blind in a predetermined open position, and that other variations may be I made in the structure described without departing from the general principles of the invention. The slats 36 may be of the conventional type and are provided with openings 31 and 68 to permit the passage of the cords 43 and 53. 5 The supporting or top bar l is provided with relatively large rectangular openings 69 and shown in Fig. 5 through which openings descend the tapes 30, 3| of the blind which are suspended from the clamps 32, 33 and the cords 33, 53 which are employed for the purpose of raising and low ering the blind. It will be seen that the rectangular openings shown in Fig. 5 are larger in area than the tape fastening device 32 which, of course,'will permit the tapes to descend vertically downward through the rectangular openings, illustrated in Fig. 5, without subjecting them to any crowding action which might result from passing them through slotted openings.

Venetian blinds of the type herein described can be readily taken down for cleaning and, if desired, may be easily dismantled for the replacement of tapesand cords. To remove the blind from the brackets l and 3, it is pulled outwardly. Thereafter it is a simple matter to lift the topmember 6 from the top bar I exposing the operating mechanism as it appears in full lines in. Figures 1 to 6. The tapes can then be readily removed by loosening the wing nuts 31 thereby loosening the clamps 32 and 33 and permitting the ends 38 and 39 of the tapes to be pulled outwardly. If it is desired to dismantle the blind further, which would ordinarily be unnecessary except 'in the case of a major repair, the wing nuts 3'! can be removed entirely. It is then possible to lift oil the clamping elements 33 and 35 exposing the top of shaft 9. The end 2! of the spring l8 can then be disengaged from its slot and the end I?! of the spring lB'oan be removed from the hole 23 in the shaft 9, the bolts 35 in the shaft ll can also then be removed and the set screw 28 (see Figure 5) in the collar 2'? can be loosened. The chain 6! is removed from the slot 54 and the entire shaft will slide easily through the bearings l5 and 23. The collar 2'! and the pulley supporting members Hand 52 are readily removed from the end of the shaft. If necessary, the bearing members l5 and 26 may be removed by pulling them out. of the opening I l in the shaft supporting elements I0 and H The Venetian blind is reassembled in the reverse order by passing the shaft 9 through the bearing member it, then placing the spring [8, the pulley supporting members .32 and 52 and the collar 27 over the end of the shaft in that order, thereafter inserting the bolts 33, fixing the spring iii in place in the manner already described, tightening the set screw 28 with the collar 2'! adjacent the bearing 26 and assembling the clamping members and tapes, as previously explained.

The Venetian blind structure of the type described herein has the advantage that the blind automatically assumes a closed position when the chain or pull cord 5| is released. This arrangement overcomes one of the disadvantages of the type of Venetian blind now used wherein a double pull cord is employed to open and close the slats. The pull cords of the type customarily usedare ordinarily placed over a pulley and when.

70 pulled in one direction rotate a top bar to which the tapes are attached to close the slats and in the other direction to open them. Thecord often tends to slip so that one end of the cord becomes longer than the other making it impos-; sible for a shorter person to reach the other end of the cord. As a result, it is necessary to adjust the pull cord at frequent intervals, which is inconvenient and sometimes rather difficult. Furthermore, if the cord slips far enough, it is not possible to close the blind without an adjustment of the cord. The present invention eliminates these difficulties.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a structure in which the tapes that hold the slats are detachably fastened at the top of the blind without the necessity for using nails, as is customary in the usual type of Venetian blind. Moreover, the mounting of the tape clamps on a common shaft eliminates the need for one of the heavy top bars heretofore customarily employed in Venetian blind construction.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A Venetian blind comprising a rotatable shaft, tape supporting means detachably fastened to said shaft for supporting the slats of the blind, means operatively associated with said shaft for normally rotating said shaft to move said tapes with respect to each other to cause said slats automatically to assume a closed position, means for rotating said shaft to cause said tapes to move said slats to a predetermined open position, and means releasably associated with said last named means for holding said shaft against rotation when said slats are in said open position whereby when said holding means is released said shaft will rotate and said slats will automatically assume a closed position.

2. A Venetian blind comprising a rotatable shaft, tape supporting means fastened to said shaft and extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof, a distance substantialy equal to the front-to-rear spacing of a pair of Venetian blind tapes, said tape supporting means comprising a pair of clamping elements for clamping the ends of said tapes, means for holding said clamping elements in clamped relationship with the ends of said Venetian blind tapes including means for releasing said clamping elements for removal of said tapes, and means for rotating said shaft to cause said tapes to move vertically with respect to each other.

3. A Venetian blind comprising a rotatable shaft, fastening means fixed to said shaft for detachably fastening the ends of slat supporting tapes, means operatively associated with said shaft for normally rotating it in a direction to cause said tapes automatically to move the slats supported by said tapes toward a closed position, means operatively associated with said shaft for rotating it to cause said tapes to move said slats to a predetermined open position, and means releasably associated with said last named means for holding the latter in a fixed position to cause said slats to remain in a predetermined open position irrespective of the force tending to urge them toward a closed position.

4. A Venetian blind comprising a rotatable shaft, fastening means fixed to said shaft for de tachably fastening the ends of slat supporting tapes, spring means operatively associated with said shaft for normally rotating it in a direction to cause said tapes automatically to move the slats supported by said tapes toward a closed position, means operatively associated with said shaft for rotating it to cause said tapes to move said. slats to a predetermined open position, and

means releasably associated with said last named means for holding the latter in a fixed position to cause said slats to remain in a predetermined open position irrespective of the force tending to urge them toward a closed position.

5. A Venetian blind comprising a rotatable shaft, fastening means comprising two pair of clamping members fixed to said shaft for detachably fastening the ends of slat supporting tapes, means operatively associated with said shaft for normally rotating it in a direction to cause said tapes automatically to move the slats supported by said tapes toward a closed position, means operatively associated With said shaft for rotatin it to cause said tapes to move said slats to a predetermined open position, and means releasably associated with said last named means for holding the latter in a fixed position to cause said slats to remain in a predetermined open position irrespective of the force tending to urge them toward a closed position.

6. A Venetian blind comprising a fixed upper supporting bar, a shaft rotatably supported from said bar, fastening means fixed to said shaft for fastening the ends of slat supporting tapes, means operatively associated with said shaft for normally rotating said shaft in a direction to cause said tapes automatically to move the slats of said blind toward a closed position, means operatively associated with said shaft for rotating said shaft to cause said tapes to move said slats to a predetermined open position and means releas-ably associated with said last named means for holding the latter in a fixed position to cause said slats to remain in a predetermined open position irrespective of the force tending to urge them toward a closed position,

'7. A Venetian blind comprising a fixed upper supporting bar .for the blind provided with holes for the passage of the upper ends of slat supporting tapes therethrough, a shaft rotatably supported on the top of said bar, fastening means fixed to said shaft for detachably fastening the ends of said slat supporting tapes passing through the holes in said fixed bar, means operatively associated With said shaft for normally rotating said shaft in a direction to cause said tapes automatically to move the slats supported by said tapes toward a closed position, manually operated means associated with said shaft for rotating said shaft to cause said tapes to move said slats to a predetermined open position, and means releasably associated with said last named means for holding the latter in a fixed position to cause said slats to remain in a predetermined open position irrespective of the force tending to urge them toward a closed position.

8. A Venetian blind as claimed in claim 7 comprising means supported from said shaft for guiding a Venetian blind cord through said holes in said bar.

9. A Venetian blind comprising a fixed upper supporting bar for the blind provided with holes for the passage of the upper ends of slat supporting tapes therethrough, flanged portions extending outwardly from the sides of said bar adjacent the bottom thereof, an operating mechanism for the Venetian blind mounted on the top of said bar and a housing seated on the said flanged portions enclosing the top and sides of said operating mechanism whereby when said blind is placed in wall brackets the operating mechanism is entirely enclosed.

MAX W. ALBRECHT. 

